Landscape Cabinet by Linda Steenbergen

“Landscape is a dynamic cabinet inspired by the landscape of the Dutch township Oudewater and the story of traditional rope-making. The green shelves are connected with each other by ropes and pulleys. When the weight of one shelf changes, the look of the cabinet as a whole changes too.

Already in the 14th century, the residents of Oudewater were making rope. In the rural areas surrounding Oudewater, hemp, the material used in traditional rope, was grown. Hemp grows best on a wet and swampy ground and the fields were specially adapted for this purpose, with long, narrow pieces of land as a result. The shape and the colors of these fields are visualised in the cabinet. After the hemp was harvested, it was weighted in the scales of Oudewater, followed by the payment of the farmers. The ropes and the pulleys in the cabinet symbolise this weighing process. Horribly enough, not only raw materials, but also human beings suspected of witchcraft were weighted in the scales. This is the reason why the scales of Oudewater are better known as the witches’ scales.” overlab.nu